The Timely Moon

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of spending an entire day with my ex-next-door neighbour from my Brandon days. We flew from thing to thing, and show'n'tell to show'n'tell.

When the girls and I forced ourselves into the van for our 2.5 hour journey home, I found myself preoccupied with the concept of time. While dwelling on this, I noticed a strange, bright orange shape low on the horizon. It looked unlike anything I'd seen before.

It wasn't round, and it wasn't half-moon shaped.

It was strange and beautiful. I wondered if it was a fire from some sort of manufacturing plant? An odd advertisement light? Or.... The Moon?! By this time, the girls had noticed it too, and were asking me- "Mom, what is that? Do you think its the moon?"

To which I replied; "Well, in my forty-two years so far, I've never seen a moon looking like that."

But as we continued driving east, and the form rose up and began to take a rounder shape, it was obvious that this amazing orange spectacle was indeed The Moon.

Never seen anything like it. It moved me deeply.

In the days following my return home, still thinking a great deal about time; I fashioned this bag. Through the making of it, I replayed the themes of that moon, and the passage of time, and all the heart-gripping beauty that can take a human by complete surprise. What an incredible privilege it is to live life, to love people, to notice the miracles all around us. How precious it is. Tenuous. How completely vital it is to love intentionally every single day. Through our boredom and grumpiness, monotony, and busyness.

To create this Timely Moon, I used a vintage polka dot from Kim Z; a 1986 kitchen calendar tea towel; a golden bedspread; some ric rac, and a red corduroy remnant.

The bag measures 10.5" wide, and 11" deep.

Pockets number 7.

The starting bid on the timely moon is $25.00 Cdn, but I'm putting a reserve bid on it. A lot of my heart and soul went into its creation, and I'm willing to keep and use it myself as a reminder of life's sweet value.

The auction will conclude at 9:30 pm cst, today, February 26, 2010.

Now go kiss your loved ones.

Alligators

My newfie friend introduced me to the phrase:
"Up to my ass in alligators".
And that's what I am.

So, no bag today. Gotta buy myself some time.

Just Right White

Can I call this bag "Too White For Janice"?



Much of the time while I was cooking it up, I kept "hearing" Serendipitous Janice in my comment box saying; "Too white for me!"

And not in a bad way. Just cute.

Reminded me of this magazine spread I once saw of a woman languishing in a perfectly white and pink, ornately decorated living room. The article went on to explain how she had designed her home to be "family friendly" for her two sons, and her dog.

Right.

Those were either pretend children, or highly, irrevocably repressed.

(I'm getting a feeling that if I were pitching for sales..... I should really talk about something else). Never was much good at stuff like that.

Now, for women like you and I who prefer to take our pink and white living rooms with us.... Here is the bag for us! (How am I doing now?)

Seriously. What used to be a pretty tacky sweater or really short housecoat, or homemade project gone bad..... Is now a sweet bag. I found this sweater/housecoat/what-not-to-wear at the thrift shop and was immediately drawn to its perfectly unworn chenille. Gorgeous porgeous chenille. Collaged together with a few of my several trillion hankies and scraps, it turned out great.

Have you ever just looked at a hanky? I mean gazed at one? Little works of art. Simple beauty.

And they make great pockets!

Inside and out!

Purdy.

Functional.

Buttonlicious.

Just don't blow your nose on it in a pinch, ok?

11" deep, 11.5" wide.

$25- to start her off.

Auction ends at 9:30 pm, cst, tonight, February 24, 2010.

Simple Everyday Elegance

Yes, you too can be simply elegant.


In an everyday sorta way.

Another work of pure love, this one.

Three old buttons- still stringed together. Couldn't bear to separate them.

My guess is that they used to be part of furniture- an armchair or something. I could be wrong- they might be coat buttons.

Any way you look at it, now they are berries on a leather branch, all on an upholstery sample back drop.

All paired up with a variety of brown and smokey grey hues.

Another upholstery sample, folded up and sewn into four handy little pockets, forms one side of the interior. Brian's shirt, and a couple of scraps form three pockets on the other side. I re-used the front pocket of the original shirt. I also sewed a narrow pocket; just right for that pen which I constantly and consistently lose.

It's a simple bag, and almost understated in its beauty.

Kind of tempted to keep it myself. But then again.... That would be ridiculous.

*

9" wide; 9.5" deep.

adjustable strap.

nine pockets.

Bids start at $25- Cdn

Auction concludes at 9:30 pm, cst tonight, February 23, 2010.

Donation Updates

Funds raised in the past number of weeks have now been donated to an organisation known as Women for Women International. I encourage you to check out their website, but in the meantime, I've copy and pasted some of the information regarding the work that women for women does in Darfur's country; Sudan.


In Southern Sudan, where Women for Women works, survivors tell stories of militias storming villages in the dead of night, setting homes on fire and shooting family and friends. Rebels commonly gang-rape women, kidnap boys to become soldiers and take girls as sex slaves. Today, a lucky few Sudanese women are able to return home, but the obstacles they face are daunting. Most are illiterate, emotionally wounded and physically exhausted.

The women who enroll in our Sudan program have next to nothing. Now they have hope.
In Sudan, a girl is more likely to die in childbirth than complete primary school. And yet, education in Sudan is desperately needed to break the cycle of poverty.

86% have no formal education
96.5% cannot read or write than their name
99% have no electricity
98.5% have no access to running water
93% have lost at least one family member
68% of married women live in a polygamous marriage


Yet, with the help of Women for Women International, they are building a new life for themselves and their children.
They’ve been raped and tortured and made to feel worthless... Our goal is to help women take control of their destiny. In war, armies use rape and torture to make women feel worthless, unclean and powerless. As a result, many women survivors feel that they have been stripped of their rights. Others never really believed they had any rights to begin with.

Women for Women International’s mission is to provide women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools they need to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. Leadership training helps women embrace the fact that they do have rights, they can find their voice and they can protect themselves and their children from those who would do them harm. It also gives them the courage and information they need to vote for the first time and make their voices heard in the political arena.

Literacy is the key to their future Once a woman learns to read, write and do simple addition in our program, she can take the next step to run her own business, join a woman’s cooperative and pass her literacy skills on to her children.

Upon entering the program, women are taught job skills training, basic health and rights awareness which allows them to earn an income and provide for themselves and their families.

I chose to donate $260.00 to the program, specifying Sudan as my preferred destination. I also sponsored a woman in Sudan for an annual fee of $368.21. This brings current donation amounts to $17,081.21 since 2008.

Of course, in saying "I", it really means "we". It's nice for us all to know where the funds are going. We are working together on this thing. My stacks of fabric do very little for anyone without you in the picture- buying bags, telling your friends, caring about other women.

Thanks again.

Letting Go

Okay, so I made a bag similar to this one a few weeks ago and............

I just couldn't sel it.

I kept it for myself, and I've been happily using it since.

After all, it employs just a few of my favourite things.

Soft green pile. Buttons. Rik Rak. A tablecloth. Brian's discarded shirt.

A pink and calico apron, an old house dress, some hankies.

Some ticking fabric.

(I immediately used the rest to salvage Micah's favourite pillow that seems to lose more feathers than most chickens I know.)

The soft green used to be a curtain, I believe. It came to me as a long strip- like someone needed to cut off the bottom foot of a set of curtains for it to fit their window. Amazing, if they knew what had become of the bottom 12 inches of that curtain...

I had to get a close-up of that pink apron bit. Such beautiful detailing on it. I'd like the seamstress of that piece to see what's become of her project.

And all that delicious, beautiful ric rak? probably got it at the thrift shop for 25 cents. Or as a great score at a yard sale.

Buttons. I used to hold onto them pretty tightly, and would have a hard time putting all those specialties on one piece; fearful that its next owner wouldn't precisely understand their sentimental value to me.

I'm letting that all go.

For you.

Isn't that Spaaaaaacial?

*

specs: 9.5 wide, 10.5 tall.

seven pockets, plus one for your pen.

starting bid: $25- Cdn

Last bag of the week, this auction closes at 9:30 pm, cst tonight, February 19, 2010.